May 30-June 12, 2026 with Micah Riegner & Sam Wilson
Sam and I had another great tour in The Great Land. Nome was our first destination this year, then we did Seward then Utqiagvik (Barrow). We took the morning flight to Nome and upon arrival we headed straight to the Nome River Mouth where we had close encounters with Aleutian Terns in courtship mode. We briefly saw a Red-necked Stint, but it mysteriously disappeared before we could get everyone on it. A Sanderling in breeding plumage with brick red flares on the head and neck was cool to see. After lunch we went out Safety Sound and saw our first of many Willow Ptarmigans and Long-tailed Jaegers.
Our first full day in Nome we drove the Teller Road into the high rocky tundra. Before we even got out of town, we saw Fox and American Tree Sparrows, Gray-cheeked Thrush, and Blackpoll, Orange-crowned and Wilson’s warblers. Further out, we saw Short-eared Owls, a single Bar-tailed Godwit, and some Hudsonian Whimbrels. Our original plan was to do a hike in the tundra, but it was super foggy, so we drove on. We made it out to Woolly Lagoon and set up a picnic lunch alongside Rock Ptarmigans and displaying American Golden Plovers. An American Pipit was busy collecting food to feed its young. The fog cleared, so after our picnic lunch we backtracked to the Mile 34 and saw a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, several Surfbirds, Northern Wheatears and some close Lapland Longspurs. We came back to Nome and saw some Muskox along the road then did some sea watching in the evening. A couple distant Steller’s Eiders and an Emperor Goose flew by. Our second day in Nome, we birded the Kougarok Road. Again, it was super foggy, but then it cleared up as we drove further inland. We saw a number of Arctic Warblers in the willows along the road—they were several days ahead of their normal arrival date. We reached Coffee Dome and met up with the Wings group, who were already on their way up to see the Bristle-thighed Curlews. They found a pair while we still getting out of the vans, so we hustled up the mountain to join them. Great views! We headed back and did a picnic along the Pilgrim River and at the bridge we saw a Say’s Phoebe on one of the trusses. We continued back and saw a distant Golden Eagle on one of the slopes and a Northern Shrike hunting from a telephone wire.
Our final day in Nome (so we thought!), we went out the Council Road, which traverses Safety Sound. Just past Cape Nome we saw a flock of White-winged Scoters, so we scoped them and found a Stejneger’s Scoter mixed in with them! It had a more pronounced knob on the bill, and it was a richer black overall. It also sat more upright compared to the White-wings. We followed the flock about a half mile as the tide took them along the break wall. Other birders swarmed as the word got out. At the bridge we saw a few Sabine’s Gulls and some Red Phalaropes mixed in with all the Red-necked Phalaropes. Near the Last Train To Nowhere we saw an Eastern Yellow Wagtail. We then did our picnic lunch at a pullout a bit further on, before stopping to scope a Gyrfalcon, a beautiful gray morph adult.
Before leaving for the Nome airport, we made another visit to the Nome River where there were Red Knots and Bar-tailed Godwits in good light. We got checked in at the airport, but it wasn’t long before they announced that the flight was canceled due to weather station issues. Sam and I scrambled to get us rebooked and with the help from Karen in our office, we found lodging at various sites in town. We were lucky there was availability for all of us! At first, it was looking like we’d be stuck another 2 days, but then Sam managed to rebook us on a makeup flight for the following day. Yipee! After leaving our bags back in town, we had a quick lunch, then birded out Safety Sound, reaching mile 28 where we saw Emperor Geese at a distance. Sabine’s Gulls were out at the bridge again, along with Pacific Loons. An Ermine zipped across the road, disappearing into the rocks below. The following day was mostly a travel day because we had to get to Anchorage, then from Anchorage down to Seward, but we squeezed a bit of birding around Nome before our flight. We reached Anchorage and hit the ground running. First, Sam and I picked up the vans, then we snagged a takeout dinner to eat on the road, and we were off to Seward. Along the Turnagain Arm we saw some distant Dall Sheep on the hills and there were loads of Bald Eagles along the shoreline. We reached our hotel in Seward right around 10:00 pm and went straight to bed. Long day.
Our charter boat trip on the Kenai Fjords couldn’t have gone better. We had nice overcast weather with no rain, and more importantly, no wind. Early on, we picked up Marbled Murrelets, Pelagic Cormorants and Humpback Whales in Resurrection Bay, then out at the Chiswell Islands, we saw Common and the less numerous Thick-billed Murres, hundreds of Black-legged Kittiwakes, a pair of Ancient Murrelets, both Horned and Tufted Puffins, and a pair of Parakeet Auklets. Steller’s Sealions were hauled out on the rocks too. The highlight though was a pod of 15+ Orcas slowly cruising along. We entered Aialik Bay and encountered another pod of Orcas, so we watched them for a while. Reaching Aialik Glacier, we located several Kittlitz’s Murrelets, Black Oystercatchers and some Barrow’s Goldeneyes, then we made our way back to Seward. Before leaving Aialik Bay, we stopped at a huge raft of Rhinoceros Auklets with kittiwakes and gulls mixed in. We reached Seward tired but exhilarated, and had dinner at Ray’s Waterfront, one of the best restaurants in all of Alaska. We then birded near the Seward Airport and found a Wandering Tattler and some Hudsonian Whimbrels out on the mudflats.
On our way back to Anchorage, we made a number of stops, first at Lowell Point where we saw Rufous Hummingbird and Townsend’s Warbler, then we drove over to Two Lakes Park where we saw American Dipper, Pacific Wren, Sooty Fox Sparrow, and Chestnut-backed Chickadee. We had lunch at a cute café in Girdwood, then checked out Ruth Arcand Park and saw several Three-toed Woodpeckers, some of which were super close. After that, Sam took us to his secret Spruce Grouse spot. We parked off the side of the road and walked into the forest and exactly 12 minutes later, there was a male Spruce Grouse in full view right in front of us! Incredible. We saw Alder flycatcher there too. Then we were off to Utqiagvik.
Our time there was both frustrating and rewarding. It was frustrating because the tundra was still iced over due to a delayed spring, so there were no eiders out on the lakes where we typically see them. It was rewarding because we saw a bunch of other cool Arctic birds and wildlife. Our time was spent birding the three main access roads. Along the Cake Eater Road, we saw huge numbers of Dunlin, Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, a close Red-necked Stint, and Black-bellied Plovers. Along the Nunavak Road, we saw a male Snowy Owl, several Pomarine Jaegers, Sabine’s Gulls foraging in shallow pools, and some flyover King Eiders and Yellow-billed Loons. Along Stevenson Street, which leads to the Naval Arctic Research Lab and then Point Barrow, we saw found the Red-throated Pipit that had been reported there, Gray-cheeked Thrushes, a female Willow Ptarmigan and Ruddy Turnstones. Right before leaving on the final day, a Yellow-billed Loon landed in a small pool right off the side of the road. It was just spectacular to watch it so close! Then not too long after that we saw a Polar Bear out on the ice feeding on some kind of carcass—a nice way to wrap up our time in the Arctic.
Our final day of birding, we ran around Anchorage to clean up on some species we had yet to see. Among the highlights of that day were American Porcupine up in a tree, a flyby American Goshawk, Boreal Chickadees, Brown Creeper and a Moose walking along a lake. We stopped at Westchester Lagoon in the afternoon to coincide with the high tide. Unfortunately, there were no Hudsonian Godwits visible, but we saw some close Sandhill Cranes, another Alder Flycatcher and an Osprey getting mobbed by Arctic Terns. We had dinner back at the hotel, wrapping up a fantastic time in Alaska.
Sam and I would like to thank Karen in our office for her essential support, especially when we were stuck in Nome. We’d like to thank our wonderful Seward crew who took such great care of us on our boat day, and we’d like to thank you all for joining us up in Alaska… we look forward to more birding together!
Mammals
Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) We saw a few near Nome.
Alaskan Hare (Lepus othus) The large hares that were along the Kougarok Road.
Arctic Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus parryii) Plentiful. We saw some close ones in Nome.
North American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Somehow we missed seeing them, but we did hear one at Goose Lake.
North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) Terrific views along the Kougarok Road.
North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) We saw one up in a tree near Anchorage.
Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) There were at least 15 in a pod out at Chiswell Islands
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Seen on our Seward boat trip.
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) We had a couple close encounters in Nome.
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) About half the group saw one the night we went out after dinner, then the rest of the group caught up the following day when we saw one on the ice eating a carcass.
Ermine (Mustela erminea) One zipped across the road in Nome.
Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) We had fun watching these on our Seward boat trip.
Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) Several were out at the Chiswell Islands.
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Seen mostly around Seward.
Moose (Alces alces) We saw one along the side of a lake in Anchorage.
Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus) We had tremendous views of a mom with her tiny baby that was about the size of a rabbit during our Seward boat trip.
Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) We had regular encounters with these tremendous tundra goats outside of Nome.
Butterflies
Northern Marble (Euchloe creusa) We saw one on the Kougarok Road, Nome.
Red-disked Alpine (Erebia discoidalis) One was flying around during our picnic along the Kougarok Road.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/540093
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/aka26aTRIPLIST.pdf
-- Micah